Archives For ACCA Qualification

The aim of P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance, is to apply relevant knowledge, skills, and exercise professional judgment in analysing, evaluating, concluding and reporting on the assurance engagement and other audit and assurance issues in the context of best practice and current developments.

At this advanced level in the qualification, ACCA is aiming to test students’ skills on evaluating situations and applying proficient intellect to resolve problems or recommend ‘precise’ actions to these problems.

Allow me to suggest a systematic approach to P7 that worked for me.

Most of the marks for P7 are not just for knowledge. You also score marks for your aptitude on applied scenario-based questions. Initially, there are only around five or six types of applied audit questions. Therefore, phase one is to study the techniques for all the types of applied audit questions and grasp an understanding of theories like audit risk, internal controls, substantive testing, and so on.

Many students do well when they are tested on the techniques. However, many students also fail to practise these techniques during the actual exam, which ultimately leads to a fail.

So first, I would recommend recognising the key points to learn. Then keep practising exam questions (always make sure to use revision kits from ACCA’s Approved Learning Partners). Repeat this as much as you possibly can in the weeks leading up to the exam. Repetition can be irritating and time consuming, but it is effective.

On exam day, when writing your answers, keep re-reading the techniques and reiterate them inside your head and make sure you adhere to them when applying your answers to the question scenarios.

While preparing for P7, take time to practise writing a minimum of five bullet points for each accounting standard to help drive home in your mind the key topics. Understanding the more complex ISAs such as succeeding events and initial audit concepts is important. Core standards on areas like audit risk and response, evidence, and audit reports must not be overlooked either.

If that all seems straightforward enough, why isn’t the pass rate for P7 as high as it could be? It is discouraging, but you need to read, comprehend, grit your teeth and try to follow the above.

Rigorous exam practice can always save you from making any blunders in the exam – and I hope you find my detailed tips useful for your exam practice.

Hi everyone! Greetings from Indonesia. Lots of us will be preparing for the upcoming exam session in June. If you have not done so, it’s better to start now as there will be no good outcome if we keep on procrastinating our study. As for myself, I passed one out of three exams I attempted back in June 2014 and I decided not to take an exam in December. At the beginning, I found it a little bit challenging to restart my studies again as it has been over a year since I have taken an exam. However, my top tips for staying on track when restarting my studies are:

1. Take a vacation. It is very easy to fill up your mind with a negative mindset due to the fear of failure. For me, one of the most effective ways to clear my mind is to have a vacation with my family. Once you have removed the negativity from your mind, you can start off your studies with a fresh mind.

‘Begin with the end in mind’ said Stephen Covey, the US author, educator and businessman. By knowing the end goal, it will be easier for you to overcome any challenge you might face. Make a token out of your biggest motivator, be it a picture of your spouse, your children, your family/friends, and hang them in your cubicle/study desk to let it act as a reminder for you to reach your goal.

3. Do the simple things first to get started and increase the frequency and difficulties gradually.

Do not get bogged down by imagining the most difficult part of the exam. Believe in yourself that there is no problem or question too hard to be solved. Break down the hard topics into smaller and easier parts, and work on them step by step. Once the ball has started to roll, you will eventually be self-motivated.

I wish everyone the best result for the upcoming exams. Studying for my two final papers has been very challenging for me. However, I believe that there is no bar higher than the bar we set ourselves. With that being said, let’s raise the bar even higher, overcome the hurdle and reach the blue sky!

Student Accountant editor’s note:How are your preparations going for your next exam(s)? Email us at studentaccountant@accaglobal.com to say how you’re preparing or comment on this post

Becoming more successful in LIFE enables you to become more successful in everything you do. We all here have as common ground our goal of achieving the ACCA Qualification so what can WE do different to separate us from the rest of the pack?

By adopting morning rituals this programs us to start our day right. The meaning of “right” has a different sentiment for everyone.

My “right” is waking up at 05.00am whilst everyone is asleep, it’s very empowering to be able to use the morning hours between 05.00-08.00 to get some specific tasks done.

I start off with my coffee and I it down to review my goals, short term and long term. In my goals I always include qualifying as an ACCA member, that’s always my NUMBER ONE goal. The beauty of reviewing goals is that you have the ability to trouble shoot if you have separated yourself from the course. You can evaluate and of course take corrective action.

I then make sure I get my workout done, a nice brief intense workout for 30 mins. Exercise in almost any form can act as a stress reliever. Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract you from daily worries. (More on How to combat worries in my next blog.)

After I am done, I then proceed to get in an hour of ACCA study time, think about it, your wide awake, you’ve got a nice dose of “happy hormones” pumped throughout your body, what a better time to study. You will be conducive to the material you read.

Finally if I have time I try to get some reading done, my outer transformation (thus getting your workout done to stay fit and healthy) is JUST as important as my inner transformation, thus a few passages from an uplifting book will always get your thinking differently.

I hope I have added some value to your day and stay tuned for “How to combat worry” with regards to our ACCA studies and remember:

“Small daily improvements over time lead to stunning results.” – Robin Sharma

I am working in the oil and gas industry and the fall of oil and gas prices has had a lot of impact on the company financials, since late last year. Believe it or not, this is where having a professional accounting qualification will come in handy.

In a low energy price environment, independent Oil and Gas Companies will experience significant pressure to be able to survive through the cycle. As an accountant we need to be able to provide management with adequate and appropriate data and information in order to help them make a well informed decision. In addition to providing data, helping the company by generating ideas to improve business process, either by eliminating redundancy or increasing efficiency, will also be critical.

So, if you are a financial accountant, you might consider taking P4, Advanced Financial Management and P5, Advanced Performance Management as your option papers. When choosing your option papers, bear in mind how it might help you in your career and how to apply your knowledge in your workplace. Remember that ACCA Qualification is not only about the exam paper, but it is also about how you can apply the knowledge gained throughout your career.

In conclusion, it is never too late and certainly never a bad mistake to pursue a professional accounting qualification. Whatever your background or industry might be, whether being an auditor in a public accountant firm or being a company accountant, the knowledge gained through pursuing the ACCA Qualification will aid you in your career journey.

Hello everyone, how did the recent December exams go? Hope they went well for all of you. As for myself, it was the first time since I started my ACCA journey in 2011 that I decided not to take my remaining two papers in December. It was a tough decision to make, but the right one for me at this time. In this article I would like to share my experience on how I came to decide to delay taking my final exams.

Typically I have always registered during the early entry phase; (registering early will not only cost less, but will also help you in your study plan). However, after receiving and analyzing my June 2014 exam results, I took a more prudent approach to the December exam session and planning it in more detail. When combining my work schedule and my study schedule, I foresaw a big clash: I was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity for an overseas training in the US for seven weeks that I did not want to miss. Since the training was held from the end of September until mid November, I decided to wait until the late exam entry deadline before I made my decision.

The seven weeks overseas training program proved to be very useful and interesting. It consisted of very good material about the industry, combined with a company overview and soft skills. The training itself required n assessment test as well as group presentation and individual presentation. My experience of studying ACCA, particularly in Financial Management and Performance Management helped me a lot during the training program. So at the deadline day of the late exam entry, I decided not to take the exam in December since I had fully concentrated my time on the training program.

Delaying to take an exam can be a sensible option for you depending on your circumstances. After all, careful approach and good planning is one of the key success factors in pursuing ACCA.

See you soon in the next exam in June – I hope I can pass two of my remaining ACCA papers then!

Blog Editors comment: That’s the advantage of doing the ACCA Qualification – the flexibility. You can work and study for our accountancy qualifications around full-time or part-time work; progressing at your own pace.